Canada roadtrip: Banff

Our next leg of the trip was the main event: off to Banff!

It was another ~5-6 hours to get to Banff so we left bright and early to be able to spend as much time as possible in Canada's first national park! The drive there was spectacular and I'm sad our car windows were too dirty for any of our photos to turn out any good. We actually passed through several different national parks (Revelstoke, Glacier, Yoho and Banff) and each was really pretty. While I ogled the scenery, the girls listened to the Henry Huggins series by Beverly Clearly, and read by Neal Patrick Harris. It's pretty cute and funny and definitely helped pass the time.

By the time we got to Banff, it was time for dinner and then a dip in the condo complex' "hot pools" and sauna. There were 2 pools that were very large and very hot and not at all for swimming! They were copying the look and feel of natural hotsprings where folks just hang out enjoying the warm water while looking at the mountains. 

Car ride with bikes and lots of snacks in the back.

The town of Banff was much more built up than I expected.

Hot pools with mountain backdrops.

The next day, the dads did an early morning mountain biking ride and came across a herd of elk! After that, we went to nearby Johnston Falls and did a "waterfall walk" to the lower and upper fall viewpoints. We kept calling it a Waterfall Walk instead of a hike as to not scare off the kids from wanting to go! We didn't have to worry though because aside from the last bit that was a lot uphill, the rest of the trail was pretty easy.

After lunch we tried to bike around Lake Minnewanka but the trail was too difficult and crowded with hikers. After playing on the banks of the beautiful lake, we instead biked near town to Vermillion Lakes and the Banff Falls viewpoint. From there, we biked into town for a super delicious steak dinner. Edmund talks a lot about how great Alberta beef is and he wasn't kidding - the prices were reasonable ($50 CAN) for a yummy steak (with all the fixins and sides).

Early morning views of the mountains

Elk herd

Johnston Falls walk

Lower falls

Goofind around as we wait to get a close up view of the falls

Upper Falls

Posing on the banks of Lake Minnewanka

So pretty, right?

Vermillion Lakes was gorgeous, but filled with mosquitos!

River running through Banff. Next time, I want to go rafting!

Everyone biking in a row.

Private room at the Maple Leaf restaurant in Banff.

Beef Tenderloin was SO GOOD.

Wild game charcuterie plate.

We played a LOT of Monopoly Deal. The kids (and moms) were obsessed!)

Day 3 took us to the famous Lake Louise! By the time we had breakfast and headed out, we probably got there around 10am and it was PACKED. The lots were full and the overflow parking lot about 5km away with signs saying it was a 2 hr bus wait! We decided to chance it and try to circle the main parking lot until we got something and we luckily found 2 spots.

I can see why everyone talks about Lake Louise. The setting is stunning - the Lefroy Glacier in the distance is feeding the lake the crazy tropical turquoise colors, you're surrounded by trees and mountains and there's a stately chalet on the side where you can sit and relax with a glass of champers. What's NOT great is the hordes of people. We were able to get photos without anyone photoboming but it really is crazy how many tourists are there to take a photo for instagram and call it a day. We walked a bit of the lakeside path and as soon as you left the main area, it was much much calmer.

Daddy and Evie

The two munchkins

See what I mean by all the people?

Looking back towards the hotel

Most scenic picnic lunch spot ever

After all that sun, we stopped by Cows to see if the ice cream was really worth the lines going out the door at all hours of the day. I can report that it was pretty good. :) Afterwards, we walked around the really cool grounds of the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel before trying our first ever hot springs. I was warned that it was a pool that piped in natural hot springs water so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the sulphur smell really wasn't noticeable at all. And, even though there were a lot of people in the water, it was only at half capacity and didn't actually feel too crowded. I've been in worse!

Waiting in line at Cows

She got rainbow sherbert. I got a berry sorbet.

Doesn't this restaurant at the Banff Springs hotel have an awesome view?

Pretty hotel originally built in 1888.

Loved the old architecture. Felt really regal.

Lots of King and Queen throne chairs for the kids to try out. I love their personalities in this picture!

Here's looking at you, kid!

Hot spring-ing it.

They were in their own little world!

Lots of people!

But it was a pretty large pool

We originally planned on only 3 nights in Banff, but we were having so much fun we extended for another day. I'm so glad we did because on our last full day, we explored nearby Canmore for a hike one of the rangers at the Visitor Center had recommended. We took the "difficult" route which turned out to truly be a waterfall walk! The path literally went through waterfalls. Since it was late summer though, these waterfalls were mostly little streams here and there but the kids had tons of fun scrambling over the rocks and no one complained about the vertical climb. We were rewarded at the top of the hike with views of Grassi Lakes, two blue/green lakes that get their color from the algae and glacier water that is in it.

After the hike, the older kids went to the Nordic center to try out the mountain biking trails while Nora and I went shopping in the little Canmore downtown. I hear we didn't miss out on much because the trails were too hard for the kids so they resorted to lots of blackberry picking breaks. They were also all rewarded afterwards with some local ice cream that was served out of an old school bus.

Ready for the hike!

Hiking selfie

View of one of the waterfalls on our hike

View looking out towards Canmore

Climbing up the mountain

From the other angle

Grassi lake blue green water

the water was so clear and still!

Rock climbers above Grassi Lake and Canmore in the distance

Ready for action!

Nora being silly on our downtown shopping adventure.

Ice cream school bus

We couldn't leave Banff without taking a gondola ride to the top of the mountain though! We woke up bright and early to get to the Sulphur Mountain gondola when it opened at 8am so that we could take a ride to the top to have breakfast. There's actually several gondolas in the area (lots of skiing!) so we opted for the closest one to us that could afford great views. Bonus was that Kathy decided to wake up at 6 am to hike to the top and meet us there!

The ride did not disappoint - beautiful vistas everywhere you turned. The ride up was about 10 minutes and once at the top, there was a boardwalk to take you to the weather station. We actually thought we'd be up there only for about an hour but we ended up walking slowly, snapping a LOT of pics and spending way too much time in the gift shop trying to by Banff souvenirs. By the time we came down around 1pm, the lines were snaked around the building to buy tix and get in line for the ride up the mountain. Good thing we went early!

We were prepared for chilly weather at the top of the mountain - around 40 degrees.

Can't beat that breakfast view!

Windy and chilly up there! Evie got some tea to keep her warm.

Getting some teenage vibes here.

Glad we went early before the hordes up people came up the mountain

I love the expression on their faces here!

Gondola with the town of Banff in the background

Up up and away!

Afterwards, we grabbed a quick lunch and then went to Cave and Basin, the site of the original hot springs that were discovered in Banff. The sulphur smell in the cave was overpowering and the museum was only eh, but at $3/adult (kids free!) it was a fine way to spend an hour before saying goodbye to Banff.

hot springs in the cave

Listening to the ranger talk about global warming

We had to stop to take pics on the way out of the park.

We broke up the drive home with a stop in Kamloops, which has a lot of claims to fame like, of the top 100 biggest cities in CA, having the most number of days over 86 degrees! Unfortunately for us, we didn't get to experience much of it! We got in close to 10pm because we left Banff late and then the next morning was rainy! Kids weren't at all upset though because they had an epic time using the hotel's pool slide. Even Nora got in on the action and loved it!

All in all, we had an awesome end of summer road trip. We absolutely loved Kelowna and Banff and can't wait to go back. We are disappointed we didn't see any much wildlife as we had hoped, but we did lots of activities like trail riding, hiking, stand up paddle board, kayaking and swimming. It's funny that I don't feel tired from our trip and in fact, I feel refreshed and ready to go again!